Accomplishments this semester include: more range of motion in my body, being able to stretch on the top barre in ballet, understanding shift of weight, understanding that balancing doesn't come from holding it but lengthening through it, and getting creative with movement (in composition class). I feel that I have learned so much this semester and I wish I had more time to take classes and apply the concepts I have learned even further. This summer I have many Color Guard committments and I will not be able to take any classes but I will be teaching a lot of dance. I can't wait to teach my students these concepts that I have learned this past semester. The biggest one is lengthening the body and sending the energy out through every limb in the body. This applies to every type of movement! Even though my guard students are at a beginning level in areas of dance I feel that this concept is very important.

Over the summer I plan to work out with yoga and pilates dvds, an exercise ball, therabands, and I plan to stretch like crazy! I want to get more flexible this summer and with it being hot outside I can get really warm and then work on my body. I always feel really tight every day that I come into class and I want to get my body in better shape in terms of flexibility. I also plan to concentrate on strengthing my core. This past semester I have learned how important it is to have a strong core. You cannot support your body with only strong legs, arms, glutes, etc. Your core is the center of all of your movement and without it being very strong, you risk having back problems and a "muffin top." I plan to do many different ab workouts and I want to cut out sugary foods and drinks from my diet. I know that I can't completely quit eating my favorite sugary things but if I take one step at a time I know it can make a difference by the end of the summer.

In the fall I plan on taking classes two days a week at HCC. I am going to audit ballet and modern since I will begin substitute teaching the other three days of the week. This is exciting for me because this may be what I do for the rest of my life along with continuing to dance and teach Color Guard. I plan to further my dance education but I haven't decided exactly where. I am interested in dancing with a modern dance company and taking many more technique classes. I am also thinking about learning to dance en pointe in ballet so we will see what happens :)

The dancer in this photo is executing penche en pointe. Her focus is past her fingertips and she is eye tracking her right hand. Her upper body weight is shifted slightly forward to keep her balance while her leg is up. There is energy going up and out in her left leg and she is reaching up towards the ceiling with her left foot. Her center is very strong and she has nice turnout in her left leg. Her right leg is parallel because you are supposed to keep the standing leg parallel when doing penche. She has great poise and there is energy being sent through her fingertips. She is beautiful!

The concept of eye tracking has been one thing that I have really tried to focus on lately. The concept kind of grabbed my attention in one of Acosta's center combinations and during plies in ballet. It is very important that you don't just stare at yourself in the mirror while you are dancing. Your head, in dance, is considered an extremety along with the arms, legs, and pelvis. You must know where the placement of the head is in everything. Also, you actually feel like you are dancing more fluidly when you eye track. I understand that you need to see yourself in the mirror to check placement, but you have to break away from the mirror crutch and dance it full out using whole body!